Creighton University School of Medicine

Creighton's MD program runs on two campuses: Omaha, anchored by CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center–Bergan Mercy, a Level I trauma center, and a newer health sciences campus in Phoenix, where St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center and Valleywise Health Medical Center are major training sites.

Omaha students also rotate through other CHI Health hospitals and the Omaha VA, with rural rotations available in Nebraska and Iowa.

Eric Nguyen streams lectures, studies with active recall and spaced repetition in short timed blocks, and found the faculty remarkably available: office hours are easy to book and emailed questions get answers within hours, sometimes minutes.

For a recent neuroscience course, the school partnered with a board-prep platform so students could pair lectures with its flashcards and practice questions.

As a Jesuit school, Creighton emphasizes the humanistic side of medicine. Eric learned to ask patients how an illness affects their hobbies and their time with family, not just their organ function.

Eric took part in Wisdom Groups, small groups of students led by a Jesuit priest that reflect on fear, happiness, and what it means to become a physician.

Eric found Omaha welcoming and more diverse than expected, with great food, and co-founded a student club for medical innovation and entrepreneurship alongside volunteering at free clinics and serving people experiencing homelessness.

The trade-offs: flat terrain with little hiking, and Denver or Chicago are 7+ hours away, though Lincoln, Kansas City, and Iowa City are within a few hours.